2015 Nissan Pathfinder problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (53) · Air Bags (46) · Engine (42)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Pathfinder model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
220 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (5)
Latches/Locks/Linkages:hood:latch 2022-06-13 · campaign 22V420000 · 322,671 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Pathfinder vehicles. On certain Pathfinder vehicles, the secondary hood latch may malfunction and remain in the unlatched, unsecured, position when the hood is closed.
Risk: An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the bell crank assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 26, 2025. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are R22A2 R22A3 and R24B7.
Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch 2021-01-20 · campaign 21V020000 · 264,431 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles. The location of the brake light switch may cause the brake light switch relay to repeatedly open and close. Overtime, this can cause the relay to stick in the "ON" position, with the brake lights remaining illuminated even when the brakes are not applied. Additionally, this may interfere with the brake-shift interlock, allowing the driver to shift the vehicle out of the "Park" position, without depr
Risk: Continual illumination of the brake lights can prevent other drivers from realizing the vehicle is actually slowing down, increasing the risk of a crash. With the brake override activated, the driver will not be able to accelerate normally, increasing the risk of a crash. The driver can shift the vehicle out of the "PARK" position without depressing the brake, allowing the vehicle to rollaway, i
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, either re-install the brake light switch or swap positions with the Automatic Speed Control Device (ASCD) switch; depending on the model year vehicle. In addition, the brake light relay will be replaced with a new one. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall PC786. Note: this recall superse
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2016-04-26 · campaign 16V244000 · 3,296,947 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrec
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy par
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2015-10-20 · campaign 15V681000 · 919 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Service Brakes 2015-01-14 · campaign 15V012000 · 893 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles manufactured August 14, 2014, to November 5, 2014, and 2014-2015 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured August 12, 2014, to November 15, 2014. During the assembly process, the front wheel hub assembly fasteners may not have been properly torqued.
Risk: The under-torqued fasteners may result in a brake caliper separating from the wheel assembly causing a reduction in braking performance or reduced steering control. These conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and tighten any loose bolts to the proper specification, free of charge. The recall began February 2, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Service bulletins (239)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · ITB09-063C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Air Bags 2024-09-19 · NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc b00a0-00 stored this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin. if you confirm dtc b00a0-00 (occupant detection sensor unit) is stored, and ocs zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page)
Power Train 2024-06-07 · NTB12-103I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
cvt/tcm calibration data “write” procedure this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicle key not detected / authenticated, engine will not start this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 239 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-06 · Service Brakes“the vehicle suffered a sudden, complete loss of motive acceleration at highway speeds, followed by a total powertrain breakdown and battery drain linked to an active federal safety recall. while traveling at highway speeds on highway 169, the vehicle suddenly lost all acceleration, surged, juddered violently back and forth, and then shut down compl…”
2026-08-17 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 93,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the hood unexpectedly opened and was damaged. the hood ledge and structure were damaged due to the failure. the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 22v420000 (latches/locks/linkages). the dealer was contacted but decline…”
2026-07-16 · Air Bags · 200,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the front driver’s side curtain air bag deployed without impact. no warning lights were illuminated. the contact slowed down and veered over to the side of the road to park and inspect the vehicle. the fire department and the local emt was contacted to inspect;…”
2026-06-04 · Suspension“the control arm detached from the front subframe due to massive rust on a car that was well cared for and only 10 years old. this happened as we were driving: the front passenger-side wheel became loose and began flopping back and forth, forcing me to immediately pull over into a gas station. i do not want to imagine what would have happened if thi…”
2026-04-07 · Power Train“cvt judder problems on acceleration…”
2026-04-02 · Exterior Lighting · 115,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that the rear brake lights failed to illuminate when the vehicle was parked. the contact depressed the brake pedal to disengage the brake lights. while driving at various speeds, the brake lights illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed. the dealer was contacted and confirmed …”
2026-03-03 · Engine“while driving at a rate of 20mph +, the pathfinder will start jerking back and forth then turn off. this happened in the middle of a highway lane. good thing no one was hurt. this was also sudden …”
2026-01-21 · Steering“1. code p0101 not removed after replacing maf sensor. 2. power steering motor is annoying noise, high pitched sound.…”
2025-12-30 · Power Train:automatic Transmission · 81,954 mi“the contact owns a 2015 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud sound coming from the front of the vehicle. there was no warning light illuminated. additionally, the contact stated that a family member had driven the vehicle and informed the contact that the vehicle was experiencing a trans…”
2025-10-22 · Power Train“the contact owns a 2015 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and vibrated, causing the steering wheel to lock up. the contact used force to maneuver the steering wheel. the contact was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. a mobile mech…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.